King Takes Over As ROTC Leader

Lt. Col. Rick King, chair of the military science department

In the mid-80s, Lt. Col. Rick King received
his first Army rank, being commissioned a second lieutenant
through Western Maryland College. Now, after 21 years of
military service, he is the one doing the commissioning at
Sam Houston State University, as the newly-named leader of
the military science department.

“I’ve always wanted to be a professor of military science,” King
said. “I figured if I couldn’t be a battalion commander, that the
next best job would be a professor. Instead of leading soldiers, I’m leading
cadets, training them, mentoring them, and preparing them to be lieutenants.”

King, who was assigned to SHSU at the end of May after Lt. Col. Alan Mooneyham’s
retirement, officially took over as department chair June 15.

“
We are extremely delighted that Lt. Col. King has joined the staff at Sam Houston
State University. He has requested to come here, which shows his willingness
to follow in the traditions of the ROTC on campus, although he has a tough act
to follow in Col. Mooneyham,” said Richard Eglsaer, associate vice president
for Academic Affairs. “We feel confident that he will have the energy and
commitment to continue the ROTC in its path towards excellence.”

The Maryland-born, Texas “transplant,” was assigned to SHSU from
Texas A&M University, where he oversaw approximately 750 in the Corps of
Cadets.

Not the type of guy anyone “ever thought would go into the ROTC, get commissioned,
become an officer and continue on,” King entered the program at the encouragement
of his father and was assigned to infantry upon his completion.

“
I’m the first military officer in my family,” he said. “It
(joining ROTC) was really just for the opportunity, the training, and I probably
needed a little discipline at that time, and then I liked it.

“
I was a little nervous about being assigned to infantry, because I was hoping
to be a military policeman, since my degree was in sociology with a minor in
criminology, but I went off to ranger school and airborne school, and it just
kind of began from that point,” he said. “Twenty-one years later,
I don’t regret anything.”

During his time in the military, he has been stationed around the world, serving
at
Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, as well
as Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and Guam, among others, before being assigned
to ROTC programs at University of Scranton and Texas A&M.

In addition, in April 2003, he was assigned to Central Command Headquarters,
the overall command for Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked with the coalition
force in Tampa, Fla., in support of the war on terrorism.

“
In my capacity, I worked in J-5, in the coalition coordinating center,” King
said. “Basically my job was to coordinate with the 53 countries in Tampa
to support the war on terrorism both in Afghanistan and Iraq by providing additional
forces and supplies in the country. Some of the other countries would provide
money, humanitarian assistance and things of that nature.

“
We tried to bring more countries into the coalition,” he said. “We
started with 53 countries when I got there, and when I left, we had 64 countries.”

After his three-year assignment was up at A&M, he competed with about 80
other lieutenant colonels on a “primary list” who wanted a similar
job for an assignment by the promotions board.

“
I wanted to stay in Texas. I’ve always heard of Sam Houston State,” said
King, adding that he’s always enjoyed the Texas culture. “I knew
it is in Huntsville, it is a smaller college, and the ratio of students to faculty
was smaller, which I think is a big reason students come here. For me, personally,
I think the 12,000-14,000 students is perfect.

“
When I did visit the school, everybody was really friendly, and they did have
a really good ROTC program, so I was coming into a successful ROTC program,” he
said.

Among his many goals at SHSU is to continue in the steps of his predecessor and
help to see the program grow through increasing the numbers of recruits, as well
as helping to increase retention through students’ junior and senior years.

“
By getting bigger, I’d rather have quality than quantity, and we are looking
for those SALs: somebody who is strong with scholastics, strong with athletics
and strong as a leader,” he said. “That’s how we look for the
well-rounded person.”

In addition, he wants to use his own experiences with the military to help train
junior officers by what he thinks they “need to know before becoming platoon
leaders and leading men and women.

“
Ever since I was in ROTC, way back in the 80s, I felt that in my experience in
ROTC as a cadet that the cadre could have done a lot more to help me out before
I was a lieutenant,” King said. “I’ve always wanted to work
with ROTC, and I have now, twice.

“
I want to do more things for the cadets to make them more prepared, so that when
they become lieutenants for whatever the situation is, whether they are in the
garrison or on the front line, that they are prepared,” he said. “I
want them to know all the things that are available to them; I didn’t feel
like I had that when I was in ROTC. And I know that they do that here at Sam
Houston State from the cadre that I’ve talked to, which is great.”

King’s wife, Lisa, is the associate director for the Texas A&M MBA
Career Services department, but he said she will be on hand to show her support
to the program, its cadets and the cadre.

“
I’ve enjoyed my career in the Army, and I’m here to teach others,
young people, about the military and what it has to offer,” he said. “I’m
looking forward to a great year, and from the people I’ve met at the university,
we’re receiving a lot of support right now.
I’m just happy to be here; I think it’s going to be a great assignment,
and I just can’t wait to meet all my cadets.”